When I'm Gone

by Abbi Glines

  Once I finished in the game room, it was almost three. I was normally done by three, but I still had the upstairs to do. And she was still sleeping.

  I went back downstairs, walked all the trash out, and put the recycling in the correct bins, then came back inside and was considering reorganizing her pantry when I heard footsteps on the stairs. Finally.

  I straightened my clothes and tucked my loose hair behind my ears. When Nannette walked into the kitchen, she saw me and scowled, then tossed her hair over her shoulder. As I’d predicted, she was stunning. Long strawberry-blond hair hung down her back. She was barely covered up, in a short, silky black nightgown that showcased her perfect pale skin.

  “You the housecleaner?” she asked, sounding pissed.

  “Yes, ma’am,” I replied.

  “Why are you still here? It’s after three. It always take you this fucking long?”

  “I’m finished with everything but upstairs. I was waiting for you to wake up.”

  She scrunched her nose at me. “Well, go clean it. I’m awake. Stop standing there gawking at me.”

  I needed to tell her about the mirror, but she didn’t look like she wanted to chat just yet. So I hurried upstairs quickly and focused on cleaning everything I could. I didn’t want her to have one complaint. Other than the mirror.

  It took me two more hours upstairs. She had left a wake of disaster in her room. It made the rest of her house look positively spotless.

  When I was satisfied, I headed back downstairs to see her curled up on the sofa with the remote in her hand and a cup of coffee on the table beside her. She looked more awake now.

  “Took you long enough. You’re slow. Speed it up, or you’re gone,” she snapped.

  “I’m sorry. I will,” I replied, thinking it was unfair that she thought I could go any faster.

  She rolled her eyes and dismissed me with a flick of her hand. I had to tell her about the mirror, though. It would keep me up nights worrying until I did.

  “While you were gone, there was an accident when I was cleaning the windows in the game room. I fell, and the mirror beside the window overlooking the Gulf came down with me. It shattered, and the frame broke. I will pay for it out of my paycheck until it’s completely covered. I’m really sorry—”

  “The hell you will. You’ll pay me right now. That mirror cost more than five thousand dollars. It came from Paris, as did most of the furnishings in this house.”

  I didn’t have five thousand dollars. I had two thousand saved up right now, but that was it. How did one mirror cost so much? I hadn’t expected this. “I’m sorry. I don’t have that. I can give you two thousand right now and then work until it’s paid for. That’s the best I can do,” I explained, hoping this woman had some form of empathy in her.

  She glared at me; those green eyes were taking no prisoners. I was in trouble. Serious trouble. “No, you won’t. I’ll contact the agency and have them pay me back. They sent me a moron, so they can pay for it.”

  I had to sign a consent form when I started working for them that any damage that occurred was my responsibility. I just never imagined I would break a five-thousand-dollar mirror. “They won’t cover it. They’ll make me do it. It’s my responsibility. All I have is—”

  “Not even half. I heard you the first time. Go whine to someone else. I want my money, so figure it out, or I’ll call the police and let them deal with your thieving ass.”

  The police. Oh, God, I was going to go to jail over this. “I didn’t steal it. It broke,” I started to explain.

  “Shut up! Get out of my house. There is no proof that it was broken. It’s not here. I want my five thousand for it, or you can tell the cops you didn’t steal it. Now, get out of my house.”

  I didn’t say anything else. She looked ready to explode if I spoke to her again. This was not what I had imagined. Not at all. I thought she’d be mad, but I thought she’d at least let me pay her back.

  I hurried to the door and got my backpack before running to the main road. Off her property. I had a lesson tonight with Dr. Munroe, but I couldn’t go. I needed to go home and figure out what to do. I called the professor and told him I wasn’t feeling well, then walked home slowly.

  Mase

  When ten thirty rolled around and I still hadn’t gotten a call from Reese, I called her instead. Something was wrong. She’d have called me by now if everything was fine. The phone rang until it went to voice mail. I hung up and tried again. The same thing.

  I tried to tell myself not to panic, and I dialed Jimmy’s number.

  He answered on the third ring. “Hel—”

  “Have you seen Reese?” I asked, not letting him finish his greeting.

  “Yeah, she was walking home later than usual, and I gave her a ride back. She said she had a headache and was going to get a shower and go to bed.”

  A headache was normal. I didn’t need to panic, but dammit, I wanted to know she was OK. Not hearing her voice didn’t sit well with me. “Go check on her. She’s not answering her phone, and I need to know she’s OK. She could be sick.”

  Jimmy sighed. “I am assuming this command also means you will be staying on the phone with me while I do your bidding.”

  I didn’t even care that he was being a smart-ass. I just wanted to know that Reese was OK. “Yeah, that’s what it means.”

  “Fine. But if she’s sleeping, this is going to wake her up.”

  I’d thought about that, but I couldn’t not know. I kept imagining her sick in the bathroom, too weak to call someone, or passed out on the floor. My fears were getting more exaggerated by the second.

  “You sure are protective over her. You’d think the two of you were in a serious relationship,” he said in an amused tone.

  “We are in a serious, very exclusive relationship. Did she not tell you that?”

  Jimmy cleared his throat. “She wasn’t sure what you were in. But she did tell me she couldn’t double-date with me because she didn’t think you’d like that.”

  Damn right I wouldn’t like it. What did Reese think all that was this weekend? I came to town just to stop her from dating someone else. I made my interest very clear, over and over. “She thought right,” was my only response. This wasn’t a conversation I needed to have with Jimmy.

  “I guess if you’re not getting any on the side, then—”

  “Jimmy, are you trying to find out if I’m fucking other women while I’m in Texas? Because if that is what this is and you’re trying to protect Reese, then understand something: I don’t want anyone but Reese. Ever. So stop trying to rile me up, and go check on my woman. Now.”

  Jimmy chuckled. “Well, all right, then. I can do that.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t thinking of dating other people. Jimmy just wanted to see if I was. I’d be pissed at him if it wasn’t for the fact that he cared about her. He was just trying to watch out for her. I liked that.

  I waited while Jimmy walked over to Reese’s apartment and knocked on the door. “Reese, honey. If you’re awake, could you open up? I got an angry cowboy on my phone interrupting my soaps.”

  I waited while I listened to Jimmy knock again.

  “I hear the latch,” Jimmy said, and the panic slowly started to ebb.

  “Hey,” her soft voice said from inside her apartment.

  “You wanna talk to him?” Jimmy asked.

  I heard the muffled sound of them whispering with a hand over the receiver. I hated it. Something was wrong. I was going to have to leave shit here again and go back to Rosemary Beach.

  “Hey, sorry. I was asleep. It was a long day.” Reese’s voice came over the phone, thick with sleep. She wasn’t lying. She’d been in bed. She was OK.

  “Do you feel sick? Have Jimmy check your temperature,” I said, feeling anxious that something was off.

  “I’m fine. No fever, I promise. I’ll call you tomorrow. I just needed to sleep tonight. But I’m not sick. I don’t feel sick.”

  Someth
ing was wrong. I could feel it. “OK. Sleep, then, baby. I’ll want to hear your voice in the morning, though. I won’t be able to focus until I know you’re better.”

  “I’ll call,” she assured me.

  “Good night. Sweet dreams,” I whispered, just before ending the call.

  Fuck, I wasn’t going to get any sleep now. Something was wrong, and she wasn’t going to tell me what it was. I had sold the quarter horse today, but I had to be here when the buyer came to load it up tomorrow. He was also bringing the check so we could finalize the paperwork. Then I had to go to the stockyards and get some cattle. I should have gone yesterday. As it was, I was behind on shit.

  But Reese needed me, and I couldn’t be there. Another reason I wanted her here. Hell, I couldn’t tell her that yet, though. She wasn’t even ready to let me touch her pussy.

  Throwing my phone down, I went to the fridge to get a beer. I had a long night ahead of me, and if I started thinking about Reese’s pussy, it was just going to get longer.

  Reese

  I hadn’t slept a wink after Jimmy came knocking on my door. Hearing Mase’s voice and his concern had sent me into a fit of tears. Then I’d sat up and thought of every way possible I could make money, and fast. When I got my paycheck this week, it would give me twenty-eight hundred dollars total to my name. I would still need twenty-two hundred more.

  I was afraid to try to get a night job waiting tables. When I got stressed or panicky, I still had trouble making out words. And my writing wasn’t so good yet. I doubted I’d even be able to fill out the application. I had watched the sunrise, knowing I was just going to have to see how this played out. If she reported the mirror stolen, then they couldn’t arrest me without proof. And I had proof of a sliced-open hand to hold up my side of the story.

  The most a judge would do was make me pay her back, which was what I had already told her I would do. I knew I had to call Mase this morning. He was worried last night, but I just couldn’t talk to him yet.

  This whole mess was too upsetting. If I told him about what his sister was threatening to do, I was afraid he’d think I wanted him to pay her back for me. I couldn’t let him do that or think that I would want that. This was my problem to deal with, not his.

  I pressed his number, and it barely rang once before he answered.

  “Good morning. Are you feeling better?” His voice made all the bad stuff plaguing me fade away. I missed him. I loved our nightly talks. Last night, I had wanted to talk to him, but I knew I couldn’t. He could tell I was upset, and I couldn’t hide it from him.

  “Yes. I’m much better. Thank you. Sorry about last night,” I replied.

  “You being OK is all I’m worried about. Although I won’t lie, I missed your voice reading to me last night. Hard to sleep without that.”

  I smiled for the first time since the awful meeting with Nan yesterday. He made me happy, even when things sucked. “That normally doesn’t happen to me. But if it ever happens again, I promise to call before I go to sleep. I should have thought of calling you earlier and letting you know.” Trying to sound normal was not easy. But I was doing the best I could.

  “I’ll let you get to work. Have a good day, baby.”

  I said good-bye and hung up, letting the warm feeling I got when he called me “baby” stay with me most of the morning.

  It was almost noon when I got the call from the cleaning agency I had been fired. Nan had called them, and they wanted no connection with me. I was to come pick up my check and not report for the other two houses I had scheduled for that week. I managed to finish cleaning the rest of the Carters’ house that afternoon without breaking down.

  I was going to be fine. I would call Blaire Finlay. Two houses would pay the bills. I wouldn’t have any left over for extras or savings, so paying Nan back was going to be difficult. I had to find one more house to clean, at least, or another job.

  Before I went home today, I was going to cut Nan a check for two thousand four hundred dollars. That was all I had right now. I wouldn’t think about the rent just yet; I would worry about that next week. Right now, I needed to show that I was trying to pay for the mirror. I didn’t want the cops coming after me.

  The idea of facing Nan again was terrifying. However, when I finally got to her house, there were two cars parked outside, Nan’s expensive little sports car and a black SUV. Having company could be a good thing. Surely she wouldn’t be nasty in front of guests.

  After giving myself a pep talk, I went up the front steps and rang the doorbell. I would give her the check, apologize again, and promise more money as soon as possible. Then I would leave. I could do this.

  The door swung open sooner than I’d expected, and Nan’s expression immediately turned into a disgusted sneer. “What are you doing here? I called the agency and had you fired. Do I need to call the cops, too?”

  I went over what I had practiced in my head. “Here is a check with everything I have right now. I’ll get you more as soon as I can. I’m really sorry about the mirror,” I said, my voice only cracking once from nerves.

  Rush Finlay walked up behind Nan. He wasn’t smiling. What was he doing here?

  “Nan? What’s going on? Did you just say you had—” He stopped and looked at me. “It’s Reese, correct?” I nodded. “Did you have Reese fired?”

  “She stole a five-thousand-dollar mirror from my house! Yes, I had her fired. This is a check for not even half of it, and she thinks that makes it OK,” Nan spat out.

  Rush didn’t look like he believed her. He turned back to me. “Reese, did you steal a mirror?”

  I shook my head. “No. I did break it, though. I fell. It was an accident. I explained, but—”

  “She’s lying! She’s the cleaning lady, Rush! God! Do you always have to take everyone else’s side over mine? I’ve been gone for months, and this is what I get as a welcome home? A thieving housecleaner and my brother once again taking other people’s sides against me?” She was yelling now. But the fact that she’d called Rush her brother confused me. How was Rush her brother? Mase was her brother, but Rush and Mase weren’t brothers to each other.

  “She brought you a check and is promising to bring you more when she can. Does that sound like someone who stole your mirror? No, it doesn’t. Calm the fuck down, and think about this shit before you react. You’re not ten goddamn years old anymore, Nan. Grow up.” Rush was clearly annoyed.

  “I’m going to go. I’ll be back with the rest of the money as soon as I can,” I said again, then hurried down the steps.

  I probably should have stuck around and continued to defend myself. There was a good chance Rush might start to believe her, and then I wouldn’t get that job working at his house. I would have to wait to call Blaire about the job. At least I had a witness who saw that I’d paid her some for the mirror and promised to pay more soon.

  It was an eight-mile walk home from here. I had enough time to think about what I would do the rest of the week since I no longer had houses to clean.

  Mase

  My phone rang as I was pulling into the house after a long day at the stockyards.

  It was Rush.

  “Hello,” I said, not used to getting calls from him.

  “Nan’s back home,” he said, not sounding real happy about it. Couldn’t say I blamed him, but then, I thought he loved his sister.

  “Yeah,” I said, wondering what this shit had to do with me.

  “You know anything about a mirror at Nan’s house?”

  Shit! I had forgotten about the mirror. And Nan being home. Motherfucker. Reese would have gone to clean yesterday. Suddenly, her headache made a hell of a lot more sense.

  “First morning I met Reese, she fell cleaning the window, and the fucking mirror crashed down around her. Sliced open her hand. I had to take her to get stitches. I forgot about that damn thing. I figured Nan wouldn’t even notice.” But I knew she had. Because Rush was calling me. If she’d been cruel to Reese, I’d be paying her a visit, and
it wouldn’t be one she fucking wanted.

  “She probably wouldn’t have. Except Reese told her about it and promised to pay her back,” Rush said, still sounding annoyed by something.

  “Shit! I should’ve replaced the damn thing. I just got . . . busy with stuff and forgot.”

  “Yeah, you should have. She brought Nan a check for two thousand four hundred dollars today after Nan had her fired from the agency. My guess is she lost all her jobs. And she’s fucking broke. I was going to take the check away from Nan, but I was afraid she’d press charges against Reese or some stupid shit like that. I’m thinking Reese might need a little help right now.”

  “Two thousand? What the hell! How much does Nan want for the damn mirror?”

  She was the meanest, most vindictive bitch I had ever met. When she’d offered to help Harlow with a blood transfusion after Lila Kate’s birth, I thought for a moment that she’d found a heart. But apparently not.

  “She’s claiming it cost five grand and came from Paris. I’m calling bullshit on that, but she’s determined to get her money for it. I figured I would stop this if you didn’t. I just know that if it was Blaire being fucked with, I’d want to be the one righting the wrong. Not someone else.”

  “I’ll be there by morning. Don’t let Nan get near Reese again. I’m coming to settle this shit and bring Reese back with me. I can’t get things done, because my mind’s always on her. I want her here.”

  “Nan will stay away for now. I wasn’t happy, and she knows I’m pissed. I also informed her that she’d just fucked with your girlfriend. She didn’t take that info well. I believe when I left, she was ranting about ‘not believing this fucking shit.’ ” Rush chuckled. But my mind was already on to the next thing. I had plans to make and a girl to persuade to move to Texas with me.

  After ending the call with Rush, I started packing and made phone calls to my stepdad and Major. I told them there was some stuff I needed to handle out of town and left them with the list of things I needed help with while I was gone.